The Lumberjack -- December 2

Northern Arizona University’s student voice since 1914

Students hold “No thanks, no giving” march

DAISY JOHNSTON

The Students’ Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff marched to raise awareness of colonial holidays like Thanksgiving

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, the Students’ Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff organized a march,“No thanks, no giving,” to Flagstaff City Hall Nov. 17, one week before Thanksgiving. Students involved said they were there to protest colonialist holidays.

Led by student ambassador Kaly Arvizu, people dressed in orange marched in protest of several issues such as the NAU Flagstaff mountain campus having ties to Arizona Snowbowl and raising awareness about historical inaccuracies around Thanksgiving.

Arvizu explained the importance of the march.

“It’s to bring awareness to colonial holidays like Thanksgiving and why we should boycott them, as well as other issues going on in Indian country right now,” Arvizu said.

The origin of Thanksgiving is a story about pilgrims and the Wampanoag people celebrating a successful harvest with a large feast. Traditionally, it is shared as a story about coexistence and unity between cultures.

Beyond giving thanks and spending time with loved ones, many commonly shared narratives about the founding of Thanksgiving have been proven by historians to be myths. When the Wampanoag leader Ousamequin reached out to the English at Plymouth, several natives had already been killed by disease.

Protesters at the “No thanks, no giving” march said while they would not be celebrating the holiday in its traditional sense, the time off school and work should still be used to show appreciation for loved ones.

“My family is very traditionally Navajo, so when the holiday comes around, we all have time off work and school anyways, and we just come together,” Arvizu said.

At 2 p.m., students and Flagstaff locals gathered outside the University Union to make signs and rally supporters. Around 3 p.m., they began making their way through downtown Flagstaff.

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Arvizu said although the protest was planned in conjunction with the Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff, the march was organized entirely by students.

“It’s all a big farce, history is written by conquerors, so truly educate yourself on what Thanksgiving is about,” Arvizu said. “Just decolonize, decolonize, decolonize, I can’t say that enough.”

Throughout the week leading up to Thanksgiving, NAU’s Indigenous Ambassadors planned events for students to celebrate Native American heritage. After the protest, Arvizu attended an event where she honored the students elected to be ambassadors in 2023.

Members from the Black Student Union (BSU) and Somos Unidos also attended the event to speak about solidarity between minority groups on campus.

Junior

“The best way for us to have power is for us to all be together,” Fitch said. “People want us to be separate but we can work better and get more done together.”

Raised in a predominantly Hispanic area in Mesa, Fitch said being a student at NAU was a culture shock.

“I knew there would be a lot of white people, but this is so much more than I expected,” Fitch said. “I don’t ever feel like my voice is represented. That’s why I’m in BSU.”

Powerlands: A story of perspectives

The audience came in droves, filling nearly all 407 seats in the Cline Library assembly hall. Individuals had come early to pick the seat they wanted. Friends and partners sat together, talking in the minutes before the film was shown. Students walked in and waved hello to their professors who made attendance mandatory. Everyone came for different reasons, but the hall fell silent in unison when the lights dimmed.

It was the night of Nov. 15 and time for the Flagstaff premiere of “Powerlands,” the first feature film by 27-year-old Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso.

Spanning three continents and featuring seven languages, “Powerlands” relays the stories of Indigenous peoples’ similar experiences of displacement and environmental loss brought on by the same chemical companies.

For Manybeads Tso, the seven-year project was

personal. One of the stories in the film was of the community she grew up in, Black Mesa, Arizona, located in Apache and Navajo counties.

Although her experience in the film industry started when she was 4 or 5, Manybeads Tso said she began learning how to make films at age 9. In 2004, her uncle, Klee Benally, started Outta Your Backpack Media (OYBMedia), an Indigenous film collective made to teach youth how to tell their stories through media.

At 13, Manybeads Tso made her first official film, “In the Footsteps of Yellow Woman,” which screened in over 90 film festivals and won 11 awards.

Manybeads Tso said she came to dislike the film industry, but the reason she loves filmmaking has never changed. She said she likes films for their ability to show others’ perspectives.

Griffin Fitch was just one of the students from BSU at the march. Fitch said it is important for minority groups to support each other because they all are in a similar situation.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Students’ of Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff organized a “No thanks, no giving,” protest Thursday afternoon, Nov. 17. Octavia Freeland | The Lumberjack

ZACHARY MARKEWICZ

Buttons promoting Powerlands sit on a table at the entrance to Cline Library Assembly Hall during a screening of the documentary, Nov. 15.

Jacob Handley | The Lumberjack

MARIA RODRIGUEZ

EDITOR

Everything is easier said than done, but if you can take away one thing from this letter, it’s that you’re allowed to let yourself feel. Working for The Lumberjack, I’ve learned that you either sink or swim. You either do or drown. It’s that terrifyingly simple — and much like the real world — as I have come to learn.

However, you’re allowed to feel the anxiety, the stress and the sadness when work or assignments don’t go as you had envisioned.

Being a college student certainly isn’t easy.

As a student, it has been easy for me in the past to joke about my emotions and laugh off the struggles of college, work and personal life until the moment it finally hits all at once. Surprise!

Suppressed emotions are like dams, and damn it, they truly suck.

Here’s an example: Imagine you’ve never swam in your life, and you’re sucked into a tide. If you’re fighting and suppressing your emotions, it’s like battling the strongest tide; you’re not going to get far. More than likely, you will tire yourself out the longer you continue to go against what is natural: Feeling.

Trust me, it’s something I have struggled with a lot. I would tell myself that it’s normal to feel so tired and sad when I’m at my busiest during the week. I would joke about the stress of college while swimming away from the tide. But as mentioned, the tide always wins in the end.

This past semester, I’ve learned that emotions and feelings, from exhaustion to burnout, always find a way of catching up with students no matter your major, program, age or academic level.

Feelings are the great equalizer, and they demand attention.

Thank you for reading!

ONLINE AT JACKCENTRAL.ORG

Protests in Iran call for mass attention

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Camille Sipple, Editor-in-Chief

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Daisy Johnston, News Editor

Sophia Swainson, Assistant News Editor

Jorja Heinkel, Online News Editor

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William Combs III, Senior Reporter

Jessie McCann, Opinion Editor

Maria Rodriguez, Assistant Opinion Editor

Hannah Elsmore, Features Editor

Brisa Karow, Assistant Features Editor

Emily Rehling, Culture Editor

Emma Long, Assistant Culture Editor

Evan McNelia, Sports Editor

Noah Butler, Assistant Sports Editor

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

VISUALS

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Octavia Freeland, Senior Photographer

Amirah Rogers, Director of Social Media

FACULTY ADVISERS

David Harpster, Faculty Adviser

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The Lumberjack is committed to factual correctness and accuracy. If you find an error in our publication, please email Camille Sipple at ces475@nau.edu.

Photo by Taylor McCormick

PROTEST continued from FRONT

Around 30 people attended the protest. Fitch said although they were hoping for a bigger turnout, they were happy to see all kinds of different people attend. It was a level of diversity Fitch said he feels is not represented on campus.

Moreover, Fitch said they would not be using their time off school to celebrate Thanksgiving in a traditional way.

“I think of it as a time to be appreciative and thankful, but that could just be me justifying this thing that I’ve been told to celebrate my whole life,” Fitch said.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Flagstaff City Hall placed a large flag on the lawn. The protestors gathered in front of it and offered the megaphone to anyone who wanted to share a few words.

Standing in 30 degree weather on a cloudy and windy day, the crowd listened to speakers address issues faced by the local Indigenous community. In the background, cars passing by honked in support.

Once the speakers finished, the group disbanded, with some staying on the lawn outside city hall to hold up signs and chant. People who would like to follow events hosted by Indigenous organizations on campus can look for post on the NAU Indigenous Ambassadors Instagram

“I THINK OF IT AS A TIME TO BE APPRECIATIVE AND THANKFUL, BUT THAT COULD JUST BE ME JUSTIFYING THIS THING THAT I’VE BEEN TOLD TO CELEBRATE MY WHOLE LIFE.”

— Junior Griffin Fitch

Top left: A marcher’s dog sits during the “No thanks, no giving,” march, Nov. 17.

Middle left: Makaius Marks speaks of ways colonization is present in Flagstaff during the march, Nov. 17. Bottom left: Marchers take a photo after the march, Nov. 17. Octavia Freeland | The Lumberjack

Top right: While stopped at an intersection, Ashlee Craig holds a sign in front of the cars passing by, Nov. 17. Bottom right: Makaius Marks and Maria Merritt talk outside University Union waiting for the march to begin, Nov. 17. Daisy Johnston | The Lumberjack

poltical science faculty discuss election results

WILLIAM COMBS III

The anticipated red wave in the recent midterm elections turned out to be more of a red ripple; directing the public eye to voter turnout among Generation Z and a growing division within the Republican Party.

Due to President Joe Biden’s approval ratings dropping below 40% earlier this year, many experts expected the midterm elections to be a referendum on the president’s foreign and economic policy; but that was not the case. The Democrats were able to narrowly preserve their Senate majority and only lost the House of Representatives to thin margins

The new majority in the House of Representatives does pose new challenges for the Biden administration, however, which now has to deal with a split legislature for the first time. As of January of next year, the GOP will possess power to launch committeeled investigations and block Democrat legislation.

With what was supposed to be a major congressional shift of power, some Republicans are beginning to place blame on the direction of the party as former President Trump-endorsed candidates underperformed in this election cycle.

Fred Solop, a politics professor at

NAU, said the division in the Republican Party among Trump-backed candidates and more moderate ones is leaving room for Democrats to shine; especially with a policy such as abortion legislation on the ballot.

“We anticipated that the Republicans would do very well in this election particularly because President Biden’s approval ratings are quite low,” Solop said. “Historically, the party out of power does well in the midterm elections. They didn’t do as well as anticipated. We see that the messaging around the Trump, MAGA wing of the Republican Party has not resonated nationally as well as we thought and that certainly is true here in Arizona.”

Despite the results of Trumpendorsed candidates’ campaigns, Solop said he thinks the former president still has a solid shot at the White House in 2024.

“In my opinion and the opinion of many scholars, this is a social movement and social movement politics play out differently than electoral politics,” Solop said. “There is a logic when it comes to electoral politics and there is a different logic with a charismatic leader mobilizing people to be present in this country. So I believe Trump still has a solid foundation in this country and it is a social movement foundation.”

Another reason for the Democrats’ ability to garner a substantial vote in the recent election was voter turnout among Gen Z. According to Circle, an independent youth civic engagement research firm, the national youth vote

for the House of Representatives favored Democrats by a 28-point margin

Solop said the division in the Republican Party, coupled with their inability to secure a majority of the youth vote is going to lead to internal changes.

“We are going to see a battle now within the Republican Party, as to the future,” Solop said. “We are going to see that battle especially in Arizona because in this state, we elected these MAGA Republicans, who, at the statewide level have lost. But the more moderate Republican message is still there as well, so I think we are going to see this battle playout in Arizona and nationally.”

After the midterm, Arizonans saw a blue flip for governor with the election of Katie Hobbs and preservation of Mark Kelly’s seat in the Senate. Additionally Republicans won six out of the nine races for the state House of Representatives.

At an election roundtable discussion within NAU’s Department of Politics and International Affairs Nov. 17, professor Andrew Dzeguze referred to the current congressional makeup as a splintered government.

“When we look at the D.C., in the house, we have a razor-thin margin for the Republicans and they can’t decide on the speaker of the house because Andy Biggs wants to go far right, and yet they only have the majority because of a few seats flipped in New York state, which probably have to be moderate for that to happen,” Dzeguze said. “So whether the Republicans will be able to advance

much of anything on their own in the house remains to be seen.”

The Georgia Senate runoff in December will determine the Democrats’ committee oversight abilities. Dzeguze said the party still not holding a filibuster-proof majority, paired with the division in the Republican party may lead to an unsuccessful legislature for the next two years — a notion Dzeguze said terrifies anyone who studies public policy.

Another trend discussed at the roundtable was the inconsistent voting habits of Arizonans. Dzeguze brought up the fact that Arizonans overwhelmingly voted for public campaign finance disclosure laws through Proposition 211 — a seemingly democrat-led initiative — while at the same time voting to require a 60% approval for tax initiatives, which is commonly associated with state Republicans. All the while, Dzeguze said Flagstaff is going in its own hyperprogressive way through ballot initiatives passed locally.

“Flagstaff voted for two new bond issues,” Dzeguze said. “The bigger one is all about climate change and storm runoff, while the smaller one is $20 million for affordable housing. So while the rest of the state seems to be divided, Flagstaff seems to be going its own way, which is very liberal.”

While the political makeup of the United States is just as divided as before, experts say it is a rocky road ahead in terms of the passage of legislation in Congress.

Left: Haley Creighton, an NAU graduate, provides insight of their experience working in the political realm, Nov. 17. Top right: Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs, Andrew Dzeguze speaks at the roundtable event, Nov. 17. Bottom right: Associate Professor Stephen Meserve is part of the faculty who provides their thoughts of the 2022 election, Nov. 17. Octavia Freeland | The Lumberjack

The divided political makeup of the legislature is a topic of discussion in the community

“IN MY OPINION AND THE OPINION OF MANY SCHOLARS, THIS IS A SOCIAL MOVEMENT AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT POLITICS PLAY OUT DIFFERENTLY THAN ELECTORAL POLITICS.

— Fred Solop, politics professor

Arizona school districts face potential budget cuts

Arizona school districts are at risk for budget cuts of over $1.1 billion for the 2022-2023 school year. The Arizona State Senate and House of Representatives would need to have a twothirds majority vote to override the cap on spending for school districts by March 1.

The aggregate expenditure limitation (AEL) was first put in the Arizona Constitution in 1980. This initiative put a shared monetary limit on all public school districts depending on enrollment and spending used.

Heidi Ash was a middle school teacher for six years in Flagstaff, Cottonwood and Cornville. Ash said budget cuts would impact resources for students, lower teacher salaries and concern parents who would be dissatisfied with their child’s education.

“You can’t take a billion dollars away from something that is already struggling,” Ash said.

The AEL fluctuates based on prior school year student attendance and inflation. Due to the pandemic, school attendance decreased last school year, therefore reducing the expenditure limit this year.

On Feb. 21, HCR2039 was proposed by Senate President Karen Fann as an alternative option to approving an AEL adjustment. This bill authorized exceeding AEL in school districts by $1.15 billion. This change was only for the 2021-2022 fiscal school year.

On Sept. 6, over 190 school superintendents signed a letter urging Gov. Doug Ducey to call an immediate special session of legislature to lift the AEL.

Coconino County Superintendent of Schools Cheryl Mango-Paget said she thinks the AEL needs to change and a 16% budget cut may include combined classes, shortened school weeks, furloughs for teachers and staff and programs being reduced or eliminated.

“What it could do is cause some schools to actually

shut down in that spring break time frame, because 16% budget cuts to operations could really hurt,” Mango-Paget said. “You won’t have the money to pay your salaries, and the environment would be terrible.”

Proposition 301 is an education sales tax that creates a 0.6% tax for education. In June 2022, the sales tax expired. K-12 schools received the majority of the funding from Proposition 301. Two years after being passed, education sales taxes were voted to be excluded from the K-12 spending limit.

Senate Bill 1390 was signed in 2018 by Ducey and lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican

parties after Proposition 301 expired. This new bill extended Proposition 301 for another 20 years. However, Senate Bill 1390 did not continue the exemption from AEL in the education sales tax.

“Unfortunately, I’ve seen the school be put way back in the priority list of Arizona from past actions,” Ash said. “Many people are more interested in saving money in their own pocketbooks rather than what is best for the schools.”

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress argued Arizona’s AEL is based on education spending in the 1980s which is vastly different from current spending. The center said this was put in place before teacher shortages, personal computers, higher risk of school safety and special education students receiving more spending.

Polls taken across Arizona showed 74% of Arizonans think more funding is needed for public schools. Since 2009, however, $4.56 billion have been cut by the state to public schools.

“We have to create a formula for how the AEL is set that fluctuates with inflation and the times or it needs to be addressed every so many years,” Mango-Paget said. “It can’t just be this is it from the 1980s.”

In the United States, Arizona is ranked 46th for education by U.S. News and World Report. In 2022, 1,590 schools in 261 districts had a total of 970,751 students. There was approximately one teacher for every 19 students, with a total of 49,841 teachers total. The national average of student-teacher ratio is one teacher to every 16 students. In the 2018-2019 school year, the graduation rate was 78%.

“We want to encourage everybody to contact their legislatures and demand that they apply pressure to not just put a Band-Aid on the problem, but to come up with a long-term solution,” Mango-Paget said.

ILLUSTRATION BY JESSIE LI

On April 1, the spending limit will go into effect if not voted otherwise, leaving little time left in the 2023

ASNAU proposes 23 fee increase

AVA HINIKER

ASNAU proposed an increase to the ASNAU 23 fee every undergraduate student pays for campus-wide events, club reimbursements and study abroad scholarships. While previously $23 per semester, ASNAU has since suggested the fee be raised to $30 or $33 per semester.

Since its inception in 2010, ASNAU has used the 23 fee to fund a variety of student services and forms of campus entertainment, including fall concerts, annual homecoming carnivals and extended library hours.

Additionally, the fee has financed the ASNAU Global Opportunities (GO) scholarship centered around encouraging students to participate in education abroad programs as well as minimum wages for paid ASNAU positions introduced in 2018.

Brendan Trachsel, ASNAU president, said a majority of ASNAU’s funds, including the 23 fee, go toward student life.

“90 percent of our budget goes to students either directly or indirectly,” Trachsel said. “Above all else, we advocate for and represent students, not just to the university administration, but to the city, county, state and nation overall.”

Recently, however, Trachsel said ASNAU funds have lost about 36% of their value due to inflation, meaning campus events have suffered in quality

and quantity since the fee’s creation.

Campus concert tickets, which have historically been free for undergraduate students, have started to cost $10 after a set amount of complimentary tickets are claimed due to budget issues. Funds originally reserved for concerts have instead been used in the production of the homecoming carnival, resulting in fewer concerts with lesser-known artists throughout the academic year.

“We’re reaching the point, especially this year, where we’re only able to have two concerts annually,” Trachsel said. “On top of that, the artists are not very well known and students are really starting to take notice.”

Despite using concert funds, inflation has also caused recent homecoming carnivals to not contain as many rides or as much space as years prior. Sophomore Lily Schoenhardt, who has been to many ASNAU sponsored events, said she believed there was a clear decrease in the homecoming carnival’s quality since she began attending NAU.

“I thought this year’s homecoming carnival felt very small and there wasn’t as much to do as last year,” Schoenhardt said. “It felt like there wasn’t as much ‘wow factor.’”

Increases in travel costs have also decreased the impact the ASNAU GO scholarship provides over time, with limited changes in scholarship amounts being made to combat inflation. With the

added increasing cost of student awards and club reimbursements, Trachsel said ASNAU is struggling to provide all of these services with current 23 fee funds.

As a result, ASNAU has suggested the fee be increased to help the organization keep up with minimum wages, organize spacious homecoming carnivals and produce higher quality concerts more often in the year. The proposal will first pass through a student vote before further actions are taken.

“We want to work to improve everything that we can and to ensure our long-term financial stability,” Trachsel said. “Especially in the last five years, we’ve had to cut a lot. If this doesn’t pass through students and the state, we’re going to have to cut a lot more in the future.”

While a fee increase could produce many long-lasting improvements to ASNAU events, some students are concerned that additional costs each semester could be detrimental for those already struggling with finances. Schoenhardt said she was particularly concerned with individuals who do not have financial help to turn to.

“I believe a fund increase wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I know for a lot of students who pay out of pocket, adding another fee would be yet another hassle, even if it’s just $30,” Schoenhardt said.

ROSE BAILLIE OPINION WRITER

Traditionally, the political party not in power has sweeping success in the midterm elections. This year’s predictions followed the trend. Republicans were expected to dominate the House of Representatives by a large margin, and Senate control was expected to be narrowly leaning conservative. However, Democrats won the Senate race, a relatively historic victory.

Despite losing control of the House, one of the wins for Democrats was the election of Maxwell Frost, the first Generation Z member of Congress. Frost will be representing Florida’s 10th District, which includes Orlando and surrounding cities. Florida is an increasingly red state, with a reelected Republican governor, Ron DeSantis

An astounding benefit is Frost’s young, fresh perspective. It is exactly what our country needs, as the current legislature is the oldest in history. These government officials are influenced by their life experiences which have extended over generations. Their decision-making is impacted by the past rather than the characteristics of the current political climate.

Generation Z, those born from 1997-2012, is one of the most open-minded and diverse age groups. Frost, serving as a voice for the generation, will hopefully influence other members of Congress to consider their political views more fully.

Roberta Zatz, a behavioral science researcher who conducted a study on Gen Z, found that they are determined to confront societal issues.

“A typical Gen Zer is a self-driver who deeply cares about others, strives for a diverse community, is highly collaborative and social, values flexibility, relevance, authenticity and nonhierarchical leadership,” Katz said.

Frost represents all of these values. Some of his top issues are gun violence, affordable housing, the right to abortion and universal healthcare. As a Person of Color and national leader of the American Civil Liberties Union, Frost will provide a voice for minority groups.

Due to early exposure to the internet, members of Generation Z, including Frost, bring an inclusive perspective. They have formed personal opinions from a younger age as they are not only influenced by the beliefs of their parents and immediate communities, but by society as a whole.

This generation has witnessed a rapid decline in political unity and human rights. One of the driving forces for their progressive mindset is having been at the forefront of many politically and socially divisive issues.

For starters, the oldest members of Generation Z first voted in 2016, a monumental election in political history.

Gen Z had a critical point in their lives interrupted by a global pandemic, and have had to persevere through the effects, which includes a declining economy — another hot topic.

Moreover, Generation Z witnessed a plethora of school shootings — including Frost. He was deeply impacted by the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, which was his main motivation for becoming an activist.

Frost’s position in Congress gives Gen Z a voice regarding these societal problems. He represents progress in our political world; a shift from the typical candidate. Having someone with more modern views will bring balance, and Frost’s presence provides an opportunity for more open dialogue among political parties.

It may be difficult for him to push specific agendas, but the mere fact that he has been elected can make a difference. Our youngest generation of voters now has their foot in the door of

Musk's Twitter fiasco signals broken internet

By the end of this month, news feeds are bound to have at least one mention of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. Laying off thousands of employees, fighting with lead developers on the app and destroying the verification system are just some snippets of the most recent headlines.

This pathetic fiasco has legitimate effects on public discourse and information. While individuals may view the situation as a one-off, it results from over a decade of the internet’s centralization and commercialization.

The early internet began decentralized. Individual computers, usually belonging to universities or governments, were directly connected through dial-up modems and phone lines. This worked great for the initial basic uses of the internet, but even the researchers using it were quickly having trouble sharing large files.

The initial vision for a fully decentralized net had to be compromised to accommodate higher internet traffic, but the ideals remained when building out infrastructure. Eventually, government-led predecessors to the internet shut down, leading the way for the earliest private internet service providers (ISPs).

Those ISPs, most notably America Online (AOL), led the charge for a commercialized and centralized internet. Infrastructure massively expanded, increasing speeds and opportunities for new capabilities. New websites popped up left and right, trying to be the next big thing.

Microsoft immediately became the dominant operating system for computers, while Google made way as the No. 1 search engine, and Meta’s social media platforms now make up three of the top four in the world. Companies were building up the internet as they grew.

These improvements in internet infrastructure would not have been possible without commercialization. They have given billions of people worldwide access to information, services and connections. With the widespread adoption of the internet, it was no longer a privilege and became a necessity.

Ever since the internet became an essential tool, the shortcomings of how we have been developing our infrastructure have been coming to light.

In the rural United States, residents have been left behind by ISPs and struggle with access to reliable, high-speed internet. The federal government has had to step in and provide funds for communities impacted by the innate neglect of rural areas from commercial ISPs.

Even in more populated areas, internet access is an issue for many. In 2014, nearly 30% of Americans had no choice in who their ISP was. This leaves massive room for price gouging and decreased levels of service through monopolization.

This concept applies to social media. 50% of U.S. adults get their news at least sometimes from social media, and nearly 40% of Generation Z prefer TikTok as their search engine. This consolidation of uses for social media has given it even more immense power over information and human behavior.

The corporate nature of social media companies means they will never prioritize the people using them. Nearly every major

social media platform is publicly traded, where priority will be given to the shareholders, not users. Even privately owned, for-profit companies chase the money. Creating an exceptional platform is good for everyone involved, but choices related to privacy and special privileges usually go the opposite way.

The epitome of this philosophy lies in the scandal of Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter. His changes to Twitter, often with an incredibly quick turnaround, have hurt the reputation and user experience of the platform. Changes in verification policies allowed fake accounts to look official before it was reversed soon after.

While there has been lots of talk about leaving Twitter, most users don’t seem to be going anywhere. A big reason for this is that there are no impressive alternatives.

One alternative to Twitter popping up in the news is Mastodon, an open-source, decentralized social media platform very similar to Twitter. Since Elon Musk’s takeover, they have gained over half a million users. Mastodon actually reflects the philosophy of the early internet, that it should be open and benefit the people that use it. Sadly, that has been lost from most of the internet.

Regardless, the enormous amount of people impacted by the changes to Twitter demonstrates the core issue of centralization: If something happens, there is no viable alternative. While the stakes of this on Twitter are generally low compared to other issues happening in the world, the same principle has been shown by oppressive governments worldwide.

Governments have shut down internet access for citizens to damper protests, hide election tampering and assist military coups. The fact that any single organization can block the free flow of information is incredibly dangerous and is a tremendous flaw in our infrastructure.

This power is not limited to governments. Having single points of failure within our internet framework makes it easier for individuals or groups to attack, take down and control the web. It is a matter of resiliency to reverse the course we have been on.

As Twitter users deal with a massive shift in how the platform is being run, they should think about how much of their information is being affected by one individual.

A decentralized and open-source internet will strengthen the backbone of our infrastructure and return the web to the people that use it. The ridiculousness of Elon Musk’s new Twitter can be a point of reflection for the platforms we support and a call to action for a new internet.

Maxwell Frost: Spearheading a younger congress

ILLUSTRATION BY SAM GLABERMAN

Winter is a season of struggles

LISA HALL

Il ove Flagstaff — from the urban trails to nightlife downtown, it is a great place to live. I have been here for four years now, and the only complaint I can make about it is the weather. I hate Flagstaff winters so much. It can be too much for me between the wind, snow and seasonal depression while having to go to school.

Austin Shepard, a senior program coordinator for NAU’s Multicultural Student Center, stated in an interview with the Arizona Daily Sun that the climate and rural setting of NAU contribute to dropout rates. In 2016, 40% of students did not complete their degree, and around 1,000 of those students were presumed to have dropped out.

The climate definitely contributes to my personal attendance rate, because when it gets cold outside, it’s hard for me to get out of my warm, cozy bed in the morning and get ready for classes.

This is because the body still produces melatonin, a natural hormone that promotes sleep. When it’s dark in a room, it is scientifically more difficult to get out of bed due to this hormone production. Coupling this with being cold and the natural lethargy of waking up, it is physically harder to get out of bed during winter months for many.

In my first year, I took an 8 a.m. class, and it was probably the worst decision I could have made.

Taking early classes is a no-go for me, as I learned that waking up before the sun is out and walking to class in the wind always puts me in a bad mood.

Walking to class in winter, in general, is always the worst for me. Low temperatures in Flagstaff average around 16-23 degrees in the winter months. Plus, it’s not like driving directly into the building is an option, so I just have to tough it out for a few minutes until I get there.

Where I park on campus is close to my classes, so I don’t have to take the bus to get there, but if you’re choosing a long walk over taking the bus in the wintertime, I would definitely suggest rethinking.

The only way I leave my house in the winter is with layers, and I try to be prepared as much as possible since I have to walk. I’ll wear around five different shirts: a tank top, a t-shirt, a thermal longsleeve, a pullover jacket and then another type of jacket, most likely a puffer or sherpa zip-up. I also tend to wear leggings under my jeans and always wear tall, warm socks. I invest in good shoes that

keep my feet warm and always have gloves, just in case.

For those who live off-campus and drive to their classes, the journey of arriving at your destination is a whole other situation in the wintertime.

Driving in bad weather conditions, such as snow or rain, can be terrifying.

Even if you trust yourself as a driver, hundreds of other people on the road can make a mistake and cause an accident. Also, it’s important to keep in mind the aftereffects of these weather events can cause accidents from the ice; 24% of all weather related accidents happen in the snow, ice or slush.

Learning to drive in the snow for the first time in Flagstaff was extremely difficult for me because of all the traffic, winding roads and hills.

NAU posted tips on driving in Flagstaff on the social forum Medium during the winter. These tips included checking tire pressure and headlights as well as scraping your windows and mirrors before driving off. The importance of not braking or accelerating harshly, watching out for black ice and making extra space between yourself and other cars was also highlighted.

Everything that comes with winter just makes me want to crawl into my bed and hide. I thrive in the sun and heat.

I am from Phoenix, so it’s what I am used to. Coming to Flagstaff and living in a completely different environment for a good portion of the year impacted me greatly.

I started struggling with depression when I went to college and it always became worse around this time of the year. I blamed it on stress from school and work, but as the patterns got more consistent I did some research and realized there might be a reason I constantly felt like that.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as seasonal depression, can affect many people, especially at NAU, since we only get about 10-12 hours of sunlight a day in the winter.

Around 44% of college students experience SAD, as reported by the Mayo Clinic. With the number of students that experience this, colleges should recognize the impact that changing seasons may have on students. Being aware of the signs of SAD and learning how to cope with them are

substantial.

Signs of seasonal depression can consist of changes in mood and appetite, fatigue even when rested or oversleeping, social withdrawal and difficulty concentrating. These are just a few of the signs presented by Best Colleges, and staying aware of them can help to overcome feelings as they may arise.

Some tips that help me to fight seasonal depression are sticking to a schedule and prioritizing social time. Most students have a lot on their plate, and trying something simple and effective can be useful.

Getting a daily or weekly schedule to write out assignments, appointments, work shifts and social events and sticking to it can be helpful. Going to bed and waking up at a consistent time could also be conducive to success during a difficult winter.

During the COVID-19 semester of spring 2021, NAU recognized the mental health impacts that not having a spring break would have on students and implemented a mental health day attendance policy. This allowed students two absences for the semester at their discretion or professors to cancel class twice for mental health days. This was a onesemester deal.

I believe NAU should grant this to students year-round because mental health problems do not occur explicitly without breaks from school, but can happen to anyone at any time and are amplified in winter for many. If NAU did this, it would show a commitment to standing in solidarity with its students and faculty.

Not only would these mental health days allow students time to rest, but if weather conditions are worrisome and students can’t comfortably or safely make it to class, this is an option they can use.

Flagstaff winters are awful, and many of us are just trying to make it through however we can. By learning how to be safe and stay warm during this time, we’re able to make it a little easier.

Seasonal depression can impact many people, especially students, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to combat it. This entire season makes me not want to leave my house and genuinely makes me reconsider living in this city every year. I continue to stay though because this little mountain town holds a piece of my heart. Flagstaff winters are hard, but we can get through them with a little persistence and assistance from those around us.

ILLUSTRATION BY LENORE OTERO-STRONG

A lost art form: Sketch comedy

SAMANTHA LOGERWELL

Different styles of comedy are popular, but a form of comedy has taken a recent downfall — sketch comedy.

Sketch comedy is a way to explore various concepts or situations that can paint reality in a comedic light and normally takes the form of a series of short scenes called sketches. These pieces of media are between one and 10 minutes long and are usually performed by a group of comedians.

When most people think of sketch comedy, they think of television shows that specialize in this art form, shows like Saturday Night Live (SNL).

SNL is a live, late-night television show that mainly focuses on sketch comedy. SNL premiered in 1975 and is still running to this day, with 936 episodes in 48 seasons and more to come. It was created by Lorne Michaels, who is still in charge of the show today.

SNL is widely known and was an incredibly popular show in past years, with 82 Emmy wins to date. In recent years, however, the show has been declining with audiences everywhere.

The recent downfall in sketch material is evident in their ratings, with season 46 having an average rating of 6.5 out of 10 per episode as collected by Rating Graph. It’s the lowest rating the show has seen in years, compared to season 33, with a rating of 7.2. Season 48, the current season, is not looking to be any better so far, rating at 5.9.

To make matters worse, only 34% of viewers like SNL, a new rock bottom for the show. Not many people are watching the show anymore either, with an estimated 3.7 million total viewers recorded in the second episode of season 48. To contrast, SNL averaged 9 million viewers per episode in season 46, showing that viewership has significantly declined.

But why is SNL not as popular as it used to be? There are a few factors that play into the show’s recent shortcomings.

One of those main reasons is the cast; before season 48 even aired in 2022, they were hit hard with the news that a majority of their best stars were leaving the show

This included Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd, Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor and Aristotle Athari. The majority of cast members leaving are considered to be the most recognizable by viewers, as shown by a poll conducted in 2021.

It was one of the biggest cast shakeups in a long time. Normally, two or three people leave the show around the same time, but that wasn’t the case this year, and suddenly the show was off to a rocky start. Many people are likely to stop watching because their favorite celebrities aren't going to be on the show anymore.

Although SNL doesn't have a choice in who leaves and when, they had to

hire many new comedians to fill the gaps. While the new cast members are not necessarily bad, they need more time to perfect their comedic style and how they want to be seen by audiences.

However, the cast isn’t all to blame for why the show's failing; the writing is a huge issue.

A main point of SNL is that the sketches are supposed to be funny and relevant so that people will want to tune in every Saturday.

The only problem is that the sketches are unoriginal and lack humor; they try too hard to be relevant, and it can come off as cringeworthy to viewers. SNL writers rely on a common form of comedy most of the time, repeating jokes and comebacks frequently in their sketches.

Additionally, there is a tendency for SNL writers to take their jokes a bit too far, to the point where they could be seen as offensive.

In a recent case, SNL took a misguided stab at making light of COVID-19 and the “vacation break” it can provide for people who had less severe cases. Being that COVID-19 was one of the third-leading causes of death in the United States in 2021, the jokes made about it simply being a time to destress and relax are far from appropriate.

Jokes don’t always have to make a particular group of people the butt of the joke, and that happens far too often on the show. The worst case of this was their recent Try Guys skit, which received much backlash for good reason.

To provide context, one of the members of the Try Guys — a group of men who make videos of themselves trying new activities or skills on YouTube — cheated on his wife with one of his own Try Guys employees. The three remaining Try Guys made a video explaining what happened, how they were affected by it and what they were going to do about it from a business administration standpoint.

This was a huge scandal and a main topic of discussion for weeks, leaving many fans disappointed and outraged.

So, of course, SNL saw this as a relevant cash grab and decided to recreate it, but in all the wrong ways.

They took a very lazy approach to this skit, and it was clear they didn’t fully understand what happened or who the people involved were. The writers make bad jokes about workplace scandals and seem to downplay the whole situation.

That was just one example of bad writing, lazy execution and jokes made in poor taste, but there is much evidence to prove the breakdown of SNL and the poor direction sketch comedy is taking.

While the art of sketch comedy as a whole could be thriving, shows like SNL downplay the good parts of comedy. The show needs sweeping changes to bring it back to life again, with new writers and comedians. But until those changes happen, sketch comedy will continue its spiral into obscurity, and SNL may become obsolete forever.

Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Awareness Walk

Top: NAU Abaya Yala student organization conducted a Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Awareness Walk Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 16. Middle Left: NAU students walk through campus heading toward Flagstaff City Hall during a Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Awareness Walk, Nov. 16. Middle Right: Abaya Yala President Morgan Farrell holds up a sign reading, “Missing but Never Forgotten,” during the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Awareness Walk, Nov. 16. Bottom: NAU Abaya Yala student organization conducted a Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Awareness Walk Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 16. Octavia Freeland| The Lumberjack

“I’ve always loved the individuality that film and media can bring to the world,” Manybeads Tso said. “I love seeing somebody’s specific point of view — the way they see the world. That’s why I got into teaching film. I would spend the rest of my life in bed watching a film by every single person on earth just to see what their point of view is for two seconds.”

Manybeads Tso said the idea for Powerlands came when she was 19 during a conversation with her producer, Jordan Flaherty, while at Red Curry, a Thai restaurant in Flagstaff. Flaherty had just come back from Colombia, and the two realized the similarities between the conditions in Black Mesa and Colombia. In both areas, Broken Hill Proprietary had severely damaged the land it mined and the Indigenous communities who call that land home.

“That’s how this whole project started, realizing that our differences are so little compared to our similarities, including down to what we’re fighting for and who we’re fighting against,” Manybeads Tso said. “This is a problem that is happening everywhere on Earth, every inch of the Earth is being extracted from. That’s the whole point of the story, is realizing we’re all kind of the same.”

The hardest part of filming Powerlands changed depending on the day because of the difficulties in filming, Manybeads Tso said.

At the start of filming, Manybeads Tso said she was not sure what she wanted to say with the film. Sometimes, the hardest part was needing to work multiple jobs while filming, she said. Other times, she said funding was hard to find.

The night after the assembly hall screening, she said the hardest part was knowing how many similar stories there are.

“I think today, the hardest part about Powerlands is knowing there are so many more stories I could tell — that I could tell just within my own community and if other people allowed me to help them tell their own stories," Manybeads Tso said. "I will forever be just hoping that I did it justice.”

However, Manybeads Tso said the easiest part of filming was always the people and said her family grew with every person she met while working on Powerlands.

Manybeads Tso’s mother, Rachel Cox, is a professor who teaches video journalism among other related topics in the School of Communication. Cox said seeing her daughter succeed in the same field as her makes her very proud.

“I really enjoy my job, but I do have to say there’s a slight bit of jealousy, because she’s living a wonderful life,” Cox said. “But I also can see that it’s hard. It’s hard work, speaking all the time and traveling so much. I am incredibly proud, but also I’m her mom; I’d be incredibly proud of whatever she decided to do.”

Cox made attendance at the screening mandatory for her class. She said she wanted her students to see what was possible with the skills taught in her video journalism class.

Josie Faull, a senior, studies public health with a minor in Indigenous health studies and is one student who was required to attend “Powerlands.” Faull said she was glad she came because of what the film taught her.

“I think I’m always kind of learning something new with the Indigenous ways of life and the interconnections between culture and saving the environment,” Faull said. “I learn about a lot of different Indigenous ways that have proven to help the environment, and we should go back to those basic ways.”

Manybeads Tso said she makes films because she

knows a lot of people do not understand the community she grew up in. She said she likes hearing peoples’ perspectives and that they can change as people grow throughout their lives.

She said she considers herself a part of a close family with over 500 people, each of whom she can call by name. Grateful to have so many members in her family, Manybeads Tso said she makes films to remind people of an alternative to the current western ideology that favors the nuclear family. The nuclear family is a family group that consists of one mother, one father and an average of 2.5 kids. Manybeads Tso said she sees the nuclear family as a problem because of the lack of community that it creates.

The film ended, and the applause slowly died down. Half the audience left, while the other half stayed in their seats and waited for the discussion to begin. Manybeads Tso took the stage and held a Q&A with questions ranging from how the film was created to what Manybeads Tso’s hopes for the future are.

The audience laughed when she made jokes and silently listened when she spoke of her visions for the future.

The Q&A ended, and most attendees trickled out of the assembly hall. A line formed in front of Manybeads Tso, and she talked individually with each of them, exchanging perspectives. Manybeads Tso said she appreciates hearing others’ opinions of her films because it helps her become a better filmmaker when it comes to conveying her message.

“I love hearing people’s opinions on the film, whether they’re good or bad because I’m giving you my perspective, I’m giving you my worldview, but I’ll never know if I’m giving you my vision because I have to edit it into something consumable,” Manybeads Tso said.

POWERLANDS continued from FRONT

Top Left: Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, director of "Powerlands," addresses the full Cline Library Assembly Hall before the screening of her documentary, Nov. 15. Top Right: The audience watches silently during the screening of Powerlands in Cline Library Assembly Hall, Nov. 15. Bottom Left: An audience member’s view of the screening in Cline Library Assembly Hall of Powerlands, a documentary by Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso that highlights the displacement of Indigenous people and the exploitation of their land, Nov. 15. Bottom Right: Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso director of Powerlands, sits in Cline Library Assembly Hall before the screening of her documentary, Nov. 15. Jacob Handley | The Lumberjack

wishes granted for Flagstaff educators

LOPEZ

This year, Fiesta Bowl Charities continued granting wishes to teachers all throughout the state of Arizona. Teachers were surprised with their awarded grants to further enrich the lives of their students. This money will help teachers improve their classrooms via new supplies and resources.

The Fiesta Bowl Organization held their annual Wishes for Teachers program this year. 400 teachers were granted $2,500 through Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers Draft Day. Three of the teachers who received the grant are members of the Flagstaff community and NAU alumni.

Of the teachers selected, Kylie Haidet from Knoles Elementary School and Jennifer Othon from DeMiguel Elementary School teach in Flagstaff. Erin Celona, an NAU graduate who teaches at Summit High School in Phoenix was also selected.

Sandra Avila is the Fiesta Bowl’s manager of community relations and educational initiatives.

The nonprofit organization is driven by the importance of servicing and assisting the Arizona community.

“Our motto, ‘More Than Just a Game,’ exemplifies our commitment to community through our three pillars of youth, sports and education,” Avila said.

One million Arizonans are positively affected through programs provided by Fiesta Bowl Charities. This includes Arizona nonprofits supported by the organization’s grant sequence.

She said some of the community events provided by the organization are year-round activities. They offer youth football clinics, community resource rooms along with playground and sport court builds

Avila said the organization witnessed teachers spending their own money on necessary classroom supplies, so in 2016 the Palo Verde Wishes for Teachers program was created to help

This is the seventh year of the program. It grants a total of $1 million to 400 Arizona K-12 public and charter school teachers — each teacher receiving $2,500 to put toward their classroom wishes.

“Overall, through our Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program, we have given $5.7 million to more than 1,200 teachers throughout the state,” Avila said.

To enter into the random drawing, teachers fill out an online application explaining what supplies their classroom needs, Avila said. Applications open in September each year and teachers are selected and notified of their award at the beginning of November during the Draft Day event presented by the Salt River Project, she said.

During this event, a telethon made up of local celebrities, past recipients and partners call the teachers informing them they have been selected for the program, Avila said.

She said 400 teachers are drawn randomly and awarded the funds provided by Fiesta Bowl’s partner, DonorsChoose. After being granted their award, teachers get the opportunity to walk on the parade, attend the Guaranteed Rate Bowl game at Chase Field along with being recognized on the field during halftime.

It is a random selection process because how can we choose,” Avila said. “Every teacher and their wishes are incredibly deserving, so 400 teachers out of all eligible applications are randomly selected to get their wishes granted.”

The online application allows the teachers to describe how the Fiesta Bowl organization can help their students and themselves, Avila said.

Celona, one of this year's recipients, graduated from NAU in 2000 with a major in anthropology and a minor in Spanish. She began teaching in fall 2001 as a Teach For America Corps member.

reading on JackCentral.org

OLIVIA

Photos courtesy of Fiesta Bowl Charities

Free tuition expands to

The stress of figuring out ways to pay for college and getting rid of that “un paid balance” has become one less worry for Native American students in Arizona as they strive to receive college degrees.

An opportunity to study at NAU free of cost will be provided to all members of the 22 federally recognized Native American tribes in Arizona. NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera shared the news with the NAU Indigenous community at a gathering held in the Native American Cultural Center, Monday, Nov. 14. NAU will be offering free tuition for new and transfer Native American students starting Fall 2023.

This opportunity was created through NAU’s Access2Excellence (A2E) program, an initiative that, according to its website, “breaks down barriers and forges a pathway for every student in Arizona to come to NAU and pursue their dreams.”

The launch of A2E was announced in a presidential statement on April 28. Implementing A2E took 10 months, with its first initiative dedicated to providing free tuition to Arizona residents with a household income below $65,000.

NAU’s Native American Advisory Board provided advice and guidance on how to expand Indigenous representation and further initiatives, according to a presidential statement released Nov. 14.

Lena Fowler, chair of NAU’s Native American Advisory Board and District 5 Coconino County Supervisor, is part of the initiative to create an inclusive environment for Native American students at NAU.

A priority for the board is to work toward creating access to education for Native American students, Fowler said.

As a college student several expense factors need to be considered. The Federal Student Aid website provides a list of expenses students should evaluate: tuition, room and board, books and school supplies, fees, equipment and room materials, travel and miscellaneous expenses.

NAU also provides a tuition and fees estimate of how much it will cost to attend NAU. For an Arizona resident student to live and attend the Flagstaff campus, the cost is approximately $29,302. This estimate includes tuition and other expenses, which are broken down on the website.

“[The A2E initiative] just makes it a little easier for students and relieves a lot of

pressure on the parents,” Fowler said. “Students can actually attend school and not really have to worry about using their scholarship for tuition. Instead they can use that for other expenses — essential expenses — to be able to stay in school.”

Fowler said this new financial assistance helps ensure Native Americans have the opportunity to focus on their education.

Prior to this initiative, the only tribal financial aid was through student’s own tribes, and eligibility for such tribal scholarships depends on a student’s tribal affiliation. The Office of Indigenous Student Success provides information for those looking for information on deadlines for tribal scholarships

“Even though you may receive a tribal scholarship … it doesn’t cover everything,” Fowler said.

The NAU Foundation currently provides 25 scholarships for Native Americans, but the opportunity to apply is only open from December through February. The A2E initiative allows for an easier process toward receiving financial aid.

For Adele Pablo, a former student and now an applications programmer at NAU, this initiative could have changed her life had it been implemented during her enrollment.

“I wouldn’t have had to work when I went to school, and I think I could have participated in a lot more events that were [happening] on campus to network,” Pablo said. “I think my biggest struggle as a student was not networking because I was working. If I wasn’t working, I was going home.”

Pablo is Hopi-Tewa, and her home is the Hopi Reservation.

Indigenous people live in two worlds, two homes and two communities, Pablo explained. Managing both Hopi and NAU communities requires a lot of energy. She feels many people do not understand the energy required to balance both communities. Part of her decision to attend NAU was because it was close to the Hopi Reservation, which is approximately 109 miles away from Flagstaff.

“I wanted to still be an active member in my community, but I wanted to still educate myself and live in the white man’s world,” Pablo said. “It’s something our grandparents taught us; you have to live in both worlds and you have to balance it.”

Pablo said this initiative could have a big impact on the 22 Native tribes in Arizona because of NAU’s location.

Senior Morgan Farrell is an Indige-peer mentor and president of Abaya Yala, an Indigenous student organization on campus. She said this initiative creates new possibilities due to the financial barrier becoming less restrictive for Native

The NAU Indigenous community gathered in the Native American Cultural Center Monday afternoon, Nov. 14. Octavia Freeland | The Lumberjack

OCTAVIA FREELAND

to Indigenous students

American students.

Farrell works with the Office of Indigenous Student Success, witnessing firsthand what Indigenous students at NAU experience.

“Being an Indige-peer mentor, I meet with a lot of Indigenous students here at NAU,” Farrell said. “If not all of them, most of them comment about the stress that financial aid puts on them — whether or not they can afford to take the classes they need to take, or do the things they need to do at NAU.”

Alisse Ali-Joseph is an assistant professor of Applied Indigenous Studies (AIS) and faculty athletic representative. Ali-Joseph is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and was present when Cruz Rivera unveiled the new initiative.

“It’s about time because … we are sitting on Indigenous lands of people who have taken care of this land, been ripped from this land but continue to love and cherish and want to provide sustainable academic, economic, political [and] health futures for our generations,” Ali-Joseph said.

Ali-Joseph said the journey has become less rocky, in terms of obstacles Indigenous students may face while attending college, and because of free tuition, Indigenous youth now have the opportunity to envision themselves in higher education.

Ali-Joseph said this Native American tuition announcement is “one step closer to providing a pathway” for Indigenous youth to achieve higher education.

This tuition-free announcement affects more than the Native American students who choose to utilize this opportunity — it affects the family and community they come from.

Chris Jocks is Bear Clan from the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake. Jocks serves as the chair of AIS and as an associate teaching professor at NAU.

By interacting with Indigenous families around Flagstaff and on several

reservations, Jocks said he thinks this initiative will change how parents view college for their children. He explained NAU is doing something it isn’t required to do, and parents will take note of this.

“What’s being recognized here is that this is not just about offering a helping hand to these people that could use some help,” Jocks said. “It’s about this university acknowledging that we need those families and those Indigenous students here.”

Approximately 1,509 NAU students, full-time and part-time, identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, according to NAU quick facts about Fall 2022 enrollment.

Ali-Joseph and Jocks, who both teach liberal studies classes covering Indigenous topics, shared excitement about the potential increase in Indigenous students this new initiative could bring.

If there is greater Indigenous representation within classrooms, Jocks said, Indigenous students may have the courage to speak comfortably, engage in the discussion of Indigenous topics and provide their perspectives.

Ali-Joseph said an increase of Indigenous representation at NAU creates the chance to build an Indigenous community.

“As a professor, that’s ultimately what I want to see,” Ali-Joseph said. “I want to build healthy, strong Indigenous community members [who] feel like they have a voice — know that they have a voice.”

A2E’s free tuition for Arizona’s 22 federally recognized Native American tribes has provided an option for more students to attend NAU. The reduction of financial barriers creates opportunities for a college education to be seriously considered for these Native American individuals. Indigenous representation and encouragement continues to advance as support extends to foster one’s pursuit in higher education.

“WHAT’S BEING RECOGNIZED HERE IS THAT THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT OFFERING A HELPING HAND TO THESE PEOPLE THAT COULD USE SOME HELP. IT’S ABOUT THIS UNIVERSITY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE NEED THOSE FAMILIES AND THOSE INDIGENOUS STUDENTS HERE.”

– Chris Jocks, chair and assistant professor of Applied Indigenous Studies

Indigenous students, faculty and staff listen to various speakers during a gathering joined by President Jose Luis Cruz Rivera Monday afternoon, Nov.14. Octavia Freeland | The Lumberjack

FEATURES

Illustrator Spotlight Emily Delabarra

Hello, hello Lumberjacks! My name is Emily Delabarra, but you can also call me Liz! I’ve always had a passion to create, whether it be through illustrating, baking, photography, or through creative writing — I am so grateful The Lumberjack has given me the opportunity to be part of their team! I am currently a freshman at NAU double majoring in Social Work and Criminal Justice, pursuing both degrees through the Honors College. I keep in touch with my creativity through drawing and decorating baked goods! I even have an account where I share my creative baking adventures on instagram: @nems.bakery — which I actually drew the logo for! I believe art comes in all different kinds of forms, surrounding us with things to appreciate and acknowledge as some of the greater aspects of life. I find comfort in the fact that there is no ‘one size fits all’ in art, and have started to embrace it in my everyday life! I hope as you continue reading The Lumberjack that you are able to find comfort in my creations. Thank you so much for your support! P.S. If you can’t already tell by my pieces, a fun fact about me is that I love frogs!

Whirlwind Woman

CAMILLE SIPPLE

She blows through life like a tornado

She'll rush past you in a single breath of air She's gone before you can say a word Onto the next thing

Staying busy, busy. Always busy. Too busy Is there such a thing?

She'd say no.

As she fills her final ounce of time with another responsibility, another position, another meeting, another assignment.

Whirling like the breath of fresh, but chaotic, air she is, the whirlwind woman yet again blows through another day, another week, another year.

Leaving not so much as a whisper of air and a flutter of papers in her wake.

She was there. The imprints were left. The work done, the notes written.

But in a blink, She's gone again.

All you'll see is the last little flutter of her dress disappearing through the door, and off she goes to put out more fires; a perplexing feat.

How does a woman made of wind, they ask, smother so many fires at once, without destroying her own air within?

Willpower and might.

With the occasional dash of confidence.

This is what the whirlwind woman's friends would say....if she paused anywhere long enough to keep a friend.

Though many are enamored by her grace and ever-changing personality, Few can withstand the hurricanes she weathers, especially those of her own cre ation.

Whirlwind women live lonesome lives. That is why they move so fast. If you sprint fast enough through the days, there's no one to miss. People only come around and bring emotions out in you if you stay still long enough to let them.

Top: Hot air balloons rise over Sedona, Arizona on Nov. 17. Bottom: Rock formations pop up in the distance throughout Sedona, Arizona on Nov. 17. WildArt by Storey Whelch | The Lumberjack

HALLI SMITH CULTURE WRITER

There is something about The 1975 that just scratches the brain. Maybe it is the ’80s synth-pop feel or the profound rawness to their lyrics. It could be their neon visuals or their distaste for the digital age. I tend to think, however, that the main draw of The 1975 is their frontman, Matty Healy Healy has an erratic, leather-clad rockstar vibe about him, and watching him perform is enthralling. He has been known to collapse on stage, demand fans put their phones away, jump into tumultuous crowds and even kiss his fans on the mouth. Recently, Healy even ate a raw steak on stage. His vocals can sometimes sound like British babble, but in the best way possible. His voice is distinct, and when you crank The 1975 in your car radio, adopting the accent is a must as you sing along.

Needless to say, the tattooed frontman is a bit of an enigma. His creative genius is masterfully crafted, and even when he’s been a bit of a mess in the eyes of the media, you cannot help but embrace him wholly with open arms. He is raw, honest, reckless and unapologetic in everything he does. Perhaps this is why his lyrics come through as direct, relatable messages to an audience, as he sings about everything from drugs to Donald Trump tweets.

What makes the band’s newest release different is Healy’s introspection on his younger years and how he presented himself. “Being Funny in A Foreign Language’’ is the fifth studio album from the band, and with 11 beautifully layered tracks, the album is 44 minutes of reflective lyrics wrapped in catharsis.

In the past, the band has been known for songs expressing distaste for endless scrolling, rebellion against societal standards and a fear of growing up. Now, with lyrics like, “I’m sorry about my twenties, I was learnin’ the ropes,” and “You’re making an aesthetic out of not doing well,” on the self-titled first track, “The 1975,’’ Healy is self-aware and contemplative.

In an interview, Healy said, “All these kids are living out their lives, soundtracked to the 1975.”

This new album feels nostalgic and soft in comparison to the angsty, dark vibes of some of their past works. If you are living out your life soundtracked to this band, consider this album a new era for you.

In comparison to other albums, where some of the messages focused on the dangers of maturing in a postmodern society, the main message on “Being Funny in A Foreign Language” seems to be, despite our addictions to our phones and our problems connecting with others, love will cure all. My favorite track on the album is “I’m in Love With You,” a fun, poppy proclamation of Healy’s affection. Other tracks like “Oh Caroline” and “Happiness” are filled with heartfelt, loving lyrics that make you want to fall in love, too. There is an art to making an album that is all about love, without being corny or pandering. However, I do not think Healy knows how to pander. He is just honest, and on this album, he is honestly in love. It gives the work a completely different vibe.

Since the release of the album, there has been somewhat of a Tumblr kid renaissance. The song “About You” has gone viral on TikTok, with edits of Healy’s floppy curls and tattooed chest to accompany the track. Some fans that have been with the band since their first self-titled album are warning new fans, remarking that if they weren’t there when the entire fanbase ran Tumblr, they cannot buy tickets to the next tour. During the days of the self-titled album, The 1975 were all over Tumblr. Every time I logged on, I could count on scrolling past gifs of Healy and lyrics embroidered onto jean jackets. It was a great time to be a The 1975 fan. Now, with the recent release of the Arctic Monkeys’ new album, “The Car,” and Taylor Swift’s “Midnights,” artists who were both also popular with Tumblr users, some Tumblr veterans are claiming that this is the beginning of a Tumblr renaissance. I, for one, am not mad about it. I have been dying to dig up my tennis skirts.

“Being Funny in a Foreign Language” is a freeing new sound for the band, and frankly, all that I have been listening to for weeks. The album is hopeful, bright and warm, a good change for the band. It reminds us that love is at the center of it all, and in a postmodern society where “modernity has failed us,” it is love we need to hold us together.

The Lumberjack predicts Grammy Award winners

EMILY REHLING

The nominees for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards were announced Nov. 15, and the list is replete with the year’s most outstanding moments and artists in the music industry, from Beyoncé to Bryan Adams. There’s no doubt viewers will be in for a night of surprises, but I have my own thoughts on who will snag the spotlight on music’s biggest night.

Record of the Year

This elusive award is the final category announced on the evening as well as the most anticipated. This year’s nominees include a host of major music names like ABBA, Adele, Harry Styles and Mary J. Blige, but one nominee stands out as the winner: Beyoncé, with “Break My Soul.” The house-inspired Great Resignation anthem is to 2022 what music is to the Grammys. There’s an overwhelming sense of pride and celebration in “Break My Soul,” a joyful reclamation of dignity. Beyoncé hit just the right beat in composing the hit synchronously with society’s readjustment and reawakening from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though she might not achieve a sweep — much of her full-length album “Renaissance” fell flat for an artist of her caliber — “Break My Soul” may just bring her a major win.

Album of the Year

Lizzo’s “Special” was true to its name. The album is a clear winner in my eyes; it brought Lizzo from a promising rising star to a household name, someone whose appeal spans multiple generations and genres. She could be likened to a Lady Gaga type; she makes plenty of people angry, but creates just enough love and light to overcome it. “Special” is fueled by her energy. It was a breath of fresh air when it was needed most, shocked with the powerful instrumentals and unique rhythms we’ve all been missing. Lizzo is bound to be taking home the award for this category come February.

Song of the Year

Though this list of nominees hosted an array of year-defining songs — like Harry Styles’ ear-wormy “As It Was” and Taylor Swift’s 10-minute arrangement of her decade-old hit “All Too Well” — there was one outlier that gave me the feeling those two wouldn’t run off with the win so easy. Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” took me by surprise. As much as I hate to admit it, iconic artists from decades past sometimes lose their spark in their later years. But Raitt’s knack for utilizing subtlety and simplicity to their richest ability shined here. I felt the same feelings when listening to “Just Like That” as I had the first time I heard “I Can’t Make You Love Me” years ago. Raitt has still got it; her beautiful honesty is everything we needed.

Best New Artist

It wouldn’t be the Grammy Awards without the Best New Artist category nominating artists who have been in the limelight for years now. Many years after his breakthrough, Omar Apollo is finally getting some recognition from an even broader audience. After achieving a lengthy viral moment on TikTok with his song “Evergreen,” Apollo has truly revealed himself to be a stand-out from the bedroom pop scene. His style is reminiscent of “Blonde,” the last full-length studio album we’ve seen out of Frank Ocean — who “Evergreen” is rumored to be about Apollo’s artistry has the timelessness and longevity necessary to someday make it to the aforementioned categories. He’s a shoo-in.

Matty Healy and the Tumblr renaissance

Seniors score on eliminating waste

NAU challenged people to get their waste in order for the last football game Nov. 19. As football season came to an end, senior capstone students organized an effort to minimize waste at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.

Seniors and coordinators Francisca Alvarado and Lily Nesselrode collaborated by assigning tasks for volunteers to promote sustainability at the stadium.

Color-coded trash bins for waste were placed in and outside the Skydome. The blue cans were for recycling, gray and orange for the trash and buckets for liquid waste.

Alvarado expressed the urgency of sustainability on campus.

“There’s a lot of cool Green NAU funding projects on campus,” Alvarado said. “But there’s no entity really on campus that pushes for waste reduction efforts just yet, and I think that’s just because of COVID.”

Alvarado said research capstones are beneficial to the campus and outside community.

“The way I’ve seen change on campus, especially through Sodexo, is by doing student research capstones because they get to work through the problem,” Alvarado said. “And hopefully set a foundation for what a program could look like.”

Alvarado continues to work on the minimization of food waste through campus dining including the O2Go program and her own company, Practice Waste Solutions.

Practice Waste Solutions diverted 13,000 pounds of waste in 2019. The company practiced sustainable techniques to sort recycled waste.

A few hours before the football game started, volunteers set trash bins where they needed to be and signs to help attendants know where their waste should go.

Freshman Jazlyn McNamara volunteered to promote sustainability on campus.

“I have an environmental class and they have green events listed, and this is one of them,” McNamara said. “It’s actually really nice to see how this is all organized, because when you go to tailgates and things like that, I think you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh! This looks so easy!’ but it’s actually a lot of work.”

According to Flagstaff Rethink Waste, Flagstaff strives to reduce waste from the city landfill by 90% by 2050. McNamara expressed how important it is to recycle and play a part in helping Flagstaff to become greener.

“I feel like living in Flagstaff and observing how the environment is in other places, it really is important to recycle and volunteer to help boost the morale of recycling and making sure we don’t pollute the planet,” McNamara said.

Another volunteer, freshman Maeona Moseley, explained her role in partaking in NAU’s drive for a sustainable future.

“I’ve volunteered many times with different Green NAU events and sustainability events on campus,” Moseley said. “I’m actually working alongside [Nesselrode] for this project, as I’m finding sustainable swaps for the

Skydome concession stands.”

Moseley shared that practicing individual, green and sustainable habits can go a long way.

“I think once we get it started through the university, it will be contagious throughout Flagstaff,” Moseley said. “A big university doing sustainable practices will be beneficial.”

Moseley also said that NAU has a long way to go in terms of sustainability. The event is a small step toward becoming waste free.

The first sustainable event coordinated by the group was held Nov. 3 at the Chili Cook-off during Homecoming week. The efforts resulted in the collection of two bags of compostable trash at the end of the event.

Senior Sydney Wright partook in her senior capstone project, a project in which a student can apply what they’ve learned throughout their educational courses.

“This is our project for our capstone, but it’s become much larger than our capstone,” Wright said. “We’re really trying to get the ball rolling on low-waste events at NAU leading to zero waste events in the future. There hasn’t been much of that at NAU until, hopefully, today.”

NAU coordinators and volunteers recorded all of the waste at the end of the game to determine how much of it was compostable and the success rate of the waste promotion.

“It’s not going to be perfect today, but it’s going to be a start,” Wright said. “So we’re hoping that people are going to pick it up and take it further. I think a lot of people don’t know what to do. It’s

not that they are neglecting to do it, they just don’t know how. So it’s important to know how to put their waste in the right streams.”

Volunteers put out clear trash bags for recycling indication. They also taped flyers to trash bins for the same effect.

Nesselrode handed out tasks to volunteers looking to aid in the campus’ green status.

“We are focusing on waste minimization at NAU events,” Nesselrode said. “We set up 12 stations inside the Dome as well as stations at the tailgate that have trash, recycling, food waste and liquid waste. Our goal is to divert all of the recycling … as well as have the food waste go to pig farmers or compost and liquid waste be dumped so it does not get in the trash and recycling.”

Nesselrode is hoping to continue promoting zero waste outside of the university in the future.

“I’m hoping to be hired on to continue this next semester at the graduation commencement and other events through the Dome and through basketball season,” Nesselrode said. “It is all about behavior change. People don’t really know how to, and they are used to just dumping everything in the trash so through education and proper signage and bins, we’ll get people in norms for knowing how to recycle.”

The waste minimization project at NAU aims to divert the majority of the waste and result in a successful outcome.

NAU Green Fund projects are for students and faculty who strive to create change on campus.

ANAI CARRASCO

A trash bin stands out in its bright orange color at at a tailgate before a football game at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, Nov. 19. John Chaides | The Lumberjack

Volunteers collect trash from the tailgate party and boxes used at the concession from the football game, waiting until after the game to clean up more trash, Nov. 19. Octavia Freeland | The Lumberjack

Gyoza cooking at the iHouse

NAU’s International House (iHouse) invited students to an evening of gyoza cooking on Nov. 17 at the International Pavilion. The iHouse is a residential community located in Campus Heights for international students and others interested in different cultures.

The event was hosted by iHouse Global Advisor Yui Yamada, who is an exchange student from Japan. Yamada explained that part of her role at NAU is to host these kinds of events for students regularly.

“I have to do two events a month,” Yamada explained. “So I’ve done this dumpling event, and also a yakitori cooking party, which is another Japanese food. Everyone said that event was great, so I really wanted to do it again and thought dumplings would be even better because everyone can make their own.”

Students sat in groups at different tables, all of which were kitted out with a bowl full of gyoza filling, gyoza wraps and cups of water.

Each group was given a demonstration of how to assemble their gyoza, which involved placing a small amount of filling on the wrap, dipping their finger in the water and running it around the edge of the dough and folding it into the correct shape.

After they had been made, the dumplings were taken to the kitchen, where they were cooked in a pan with a small amount of water for around 10 minutes, until crispy.

Yamada had several other students helping her run the event and prepare the food. Third-year student Destanee Delton was one of the students there to help.

“I helped Yui make things and prepare for the event,” Delton said. “So that involved cutting all the vegetables, mixing everything, test cooking [and] tasting the gyoza to see if it’s good.”

Delton explained the mixture which filled the gyoza was made up of pork meat, green onions, mushrooms, cabbage and various seasonings.

Although Yamada was the event coordinator, she explained that she does not usually take on leadership roles, so her job as global advisor pushed her out of her comfort zone.

“I wouldn’t really say I’m much of a leader,” Yamada said. “I usually don’t take leadership in situations, but I’m really happy and I’m really enjoying it. I know that if I didn’t have this job I wouldn’t feel like this, because usually, I would hang out with just a few friends, but this is definitely a great way to socialize and meet new people.”

Many of the students participating in the event agreed these events are an excellent way to socialize with their peers. This was the case for German foreign exchange student Maria Ladehof, who lives at the iHouse.

“I think this is a great way to meet new people,” Ladehof said. “You’re seated at the table with people you don’t know, so you definitely get into conversation with different people, especially if you’re all making something together.”

This sentiment was also shared by Finnish exchange student Oliver Briny.

“I thought the event was really a lot of fun,” Briny said. “[It was] challenging, as well, but absolutely a great way to meet new people, especially international students.”

Briny added that part of the reason for this was the events are often hosted in

ALICE COLLINGWOOD

Top: Everyone tried to make at least five gyoza to be pan fried at the International Pavilion, Nov. 17. Bottom Left: Frank Fan Zexing, Yui, and Arpine Martirossyan pan fry the gyoza at the International Pavilion, Nov 17. Bottom Right: As Yuna Furuya poses with her gyoza Destined Delton, and Kaya Nakatani laugh at a joke cracked at the gyoza cooking class in the International Pavilion, Nov. 17. Sara Williams | The Lumberjack

the International Pavilion, which is located right by Campus Heights, so it is very easily accessible to international students living there.

As well as socializing and meeting new people, the event was also a way to introduce students to new global cultures that they may not have been familiar with before.

Delton, who is majoring in Japanese, explained these kinds of activities are a great way for people to immerse themselves into the culture.

“I was already really interested in the culture and knew a lot about it,” Delton said. “But I think these events are just really good for opening people up to new cultures because I think it’s one thing to see Japanese food, but making it and actually participating in it makes you learn about it more, and it’s also really fun, especially being able to eat it too.”

“Usually we eat gyoza with family and friends,” Yamada said. “So we’ll go to someone’s house and cook and eat them together, so it’s kind of like a party thing that we do in Japan.”

As well as gyoza, there was also a selection of different teas available for participants to enjoy while they cooked.

Because the event was organized by the iHouse, the majority of students in attendance were international exchange students from all over the world. As they sat and made dumplings, they shared their different experiences living in the United States, comparing how this differed from their home countries.

Yamada explained coming to NAU and assuming the role of global advisor was new to her.

“I applied for the role of global advisor before I came here,” Yamada said. “And I had no idea what NAU was going to be like, but I just knew I wanted to be a part of something fun, which it definitely has been!”

When talking about what other things she will be organizing as global advisor, Yamada said she will host an event at which international students can get rid of their unwanted items before they leave NAU.

“In December, because many of us are leaving Flagstaff, we’ll have a lot of things we don’t need anymore,” Yamada said. “So we’re going to do an item swapping event in the international pavilion where we can get rid of these kinds of items and give them to other people who might want them.”

Overall, the event was deemed a success by participants, just as Yamada said she had hoped.

Briny was also already familiar with Japanese culture and spoke to Yamada and others in Japanese during the event.

“I’m very much into Japanese culture in general,” Briny said. “So when I saw my friend Yui post about this event on her Instagram I immediately thought, ‘I love Japanese food and culture, so let’s go!’”

Yamada, the event coordinator, explained the significance of gyoza in Japanese culture to those in attendance.

Ladehof said she hoped to use the skills she had learned and apply them in her own kitchen.

“I love gyoza, which is why I came tonight,” Ladehof said. “And knowing how to make it is nice and fun, so maybe I will try and do it myself at home.”

Although students ate their gyoza as they made them, by the end of the event, so many had been made that there were many leftovers for people to take home and enjoy.

“YOU’RE SEATED AT THE TABLE WITH PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW, SO YOU DEFINITELY GET INTO CONVERSATION WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE ALL MAKING SOMETHING TOGETHER.”

– MARIA LADEHOF

Left: Gyoza waiting to be cooked in the International Pavilion’s kitchen, Nov. 17. Right: Oliver Briny and Ajmal Irshaad fill their gyoza as Alice Collingwood, a writer at the Lumberjack, folds a gyoza, Nov. 17. Sara Williams | The Lumberjack

The 2022 FIFA World Cup has been mismanaged from the moment Qatar was chosen as the location of the event. From bribery to fraud to human rights violations, Qatar and FIFA have faced large amounts of backlash, and rightfully so.

The controversy behind this World Cup stems back to 2010 when FIFA first announced Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup. The idea that a small country that has never qualified for the World Cup was able to outbid countries like Japan and the United States was enough reason for suspicion alone, but details surrounding FIFA’s decision only support the idea of this scandal.

Two months before the announcement in 2010, FIFA suspended two of its members after they were accused of offering to sell their votes. Then, in 2014, The Sunday Times uncovered leaked emails insinuating that former FIFA executive Mohammed bin Hammam bribed FIFA officials with millions of dollars to vote for Qatar.

Soon after in 2015, nine FIFA officials were accused of money laundering, racketeering and fraud. Subsequently, the president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, suddenly resigned from his position only days after being elected to his fifth term and was soon charged with criminal fraud.

While there has been no definitive proof to solidify that Qatar bribed FIFA, the evidence highly suggests some form of misdoing took place in 2010 during the selection of Qatar for the World Cup.

The second biggest problem with the handling of the World Cup has been the treatment of the country’s labor force. Qatar has built numerous stadiums, transportation services and housing arrangements for the World Cup. Despite spending $220 billion, Qatar has saved much of its money by paying immigrant workers the lowest they can and in some cases, not paying them at all.

The labor system in Qatar gives almost all of the power to the employer, leaving the laborers with little independence and no voice. Workers have made claims of wages being withheld, abuse both physically and sexually, inhumane living conditions and unfair working hours.

While Qatari officials now claim there have been 400 to 500 worker deaths and only three of which being work-related deaths, the Guardian reports the death toll of laborers is much higher, at 6,500.

Without a doubt, Qatar and FIFA deserve all the recoil they have been given for their handling of the 2022 World Cup. With any hope, the backlash received from their wrongdoings can help set up successful guidelines for any World Cups in the future.

In its first ever matchup against the University of Texas, NAU was outmatched by a much better Longhorn team. The Lumberjacks fell to 2-4 after a 73-48 loss in their first game in the Leon Black Classic.

NAU was dominated from the start. A jump shot by fifth year graduate guard Xavier Fuller gave the Lumberjacks a 2-0 lead in the early minutes, but the game was all Texas after that.

Eight minutes into the game, Texas was up 12. After the media timeout, the Longhorns went on a 21-3 run, extending their lead to 30 points with just over four minutes remaining in the half. The Lumberjacks had no answer for the Longhorns in the paint, as they scored 40 of their total 73 points in the paint.

NAU clawed back and scored a few points to slow down the Texas run, and the first half ended 50-22.

Fuller was the only player able to get it going for NAU. He finished the game with a teamhigh 15 points and made one of the team’s only 3-pointers of the night. The guard pairing of sophomore transfer Liam Lloyd and junior guard Jalen Cone struggled making shots all night against the Longhorn defense and finished the game with six combined points.

On the other hand, the Longhorn guards had a wonderful night, with senior guard Marcus Carr leading the way. Carr finished with 17 points and four assists on 53.8% shooting from the field. Texas scored 25 points from its bench, led by freshman Arterio Morris who had 11 points for Texas.

The NAU defense was much better in the second half and only allowed 23 points compared to the 26 the Lumberjacks were able to score. Both sides matched each other shot-for-shot during the second period of play.

While the Lumberjacks only scored 48 points in the game, there were some positives to take from the game, such as their shot making and rebounding. There were many stretches where the team couldn’t make a shot, but Fuller and redshirt junior forward Keith Haymon made tough shots. Not only was Fuller making shots, he finished the game with a team high six rebounds and NAU only lost the rebound battle by two, 27-25.

NAU showed potential to upset No. 4 Texas, but it was not its night. The game ended 73-48 after a hard fought game by the Lumberjacks.

Jackson Thorp Bryan Adams

BRYAN ADAMS

Photo courtesy of NAU Athletics

RJ Martinez enters the transfer portal

Martinez ran for 255 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first two collegiate seasons, showing dual-threat ability.

NAU football’s starting quarterback RJ Martinez announced he is departing the program and entering the transfer portal. Martinez announced his decision via Twitter 10 days after the team’s final game of the year, the end of his sophomore season. Martinez was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year in 2021 “I’m thankful for the relationships that I have built with my teammates throughout the past couple of years at NAU,” Martinez posted from his notes section. “With that being said I am entering the transfer portal with two years of eligibility left as well as a redshirt year.”

NAU finished its season a disappointing 3-8 with a 2-6 conference record, ninth in the Big Sky. NAU showed promise early in the year, beating FCSdeparting Sam Houston State, but was inconsistent throughout the season.

Martinez finished his sophomore campaign second in the Big Sky in passing yards with 2,877 in 11 games. However, Martinez had just 16 touchdowns and threw eight interceptions. In eight games during his freshman season, Martinez threw 14 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He also had 1,713 yards in his first year with the Lumberjacks and completed over 60% of his passes in each season. His 30 career touchdown passes leave him with the 10th most in school history

Martinez made his debut against the University of Arizona in NAU’s third game of the 2021 season. He did not start but led NAU through the second half to a 21-19 win over the PAC-12 opponent. It was NAU’s first win over Arizona since 1932.

Martinez received his first start against Northern Colorado the following week and held the position for the remainder of the season, only missing a single game due to injury. He threw for more than 200 yards four times, including a 417-yard performance against Grand Canyon rival Southern Utah. He threw for five touchdowns in the game and ran for another two touchdowns with 65 rushing yards. Southern Utah departed the conference at the end of last season and without another matchup for six seasons, NAU kept the Grand Canyon Trophy long-term.

Late in his sophomore season, against Montana State, he put the Lumberjacks in a position to upset a top-three team in the country, posting a career day. Martinez completed 73.9% of his passes and had 452 yards with three touchdowns. It was one of six games he had his sophomore season in which he threw for more than 250 yards.

Martinez is from Austin, Texas and attended Westwood High School. As a three-year starter, he threw for 7,608 yards and 67 touchdowns. He also ran for 28 touchdowns 1,612. Along with NAU, he held offers from Sam Houston State, Abilene Christian and Houston Christian. He held a two-star rating coming out of high school according to 247SPORTS

NAU is left with a quarterback room consisting of redshirt freshman Angel Flores, redshirt sophomores Niko Haen and PJ London, redshirt junior Jeff Widener and redshirt freshman Ryan Fontaine.

Widener has the most playing time of the group, appearing in 15 games since 2019. He has 732 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. He has two rushing touchdowns with 223 rushing yards.

Flores was a three-star recruit out of Casa Grande High School. He had 7,957 career passing yards and 3,583 rushing yards. He led the Spartans to the 4A State Championship his senior season and was named 4A Kino Region Player of the Year in his junior and senior seasons. Flores appeared scarcely during his freshman year and had 14 rush yards on three carries.

Haen saw playtime in replacement of Martinez and Widener as they both missed some time with injuries late in the 2021 season. He has 159 passing yards and 21 rushing yards across three appearances.

London and Fontaine have yet to make their Lumberjack debuts. London is a Blue Ridge High School graduate. Fontaine attended Pusch Ridge High School in Tucson.

The loss of Martinez for NAU will lead to big changes within the program, as it will have a new man at the helm of the offense in 2023.

Clemson topples NAU in St. Thomas 80-62

JACKSON THORP

The NAU women’s basketball team played its final of three games held at St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands, this time against Clemson. The Lumberjacks are now 3-5 on the season after a 80-62 loss against the Tigers.

While NAU fell short of a win, the team as a whole still had an exceptional game and held their own against Clemson on the defensive side. Clemson grabbed 38 rebounds, but NAU was close behind with 32. The Lumberjacks stole the ball seven times, trailing closely behind Clemson’s 11 steals.

NAU’s best run came during the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter. Toward the end of the first half, the Lumberjacks were down 228, but they went on a 16-4 run over the next eight minutes. NAU forced seven turnovers during this time.

By the end of the run, NAU only trailed 26-22, and while Clemson finally began to score again, the Lumberjacks kept the game close, with big plays from freshman guard Mary McMorris and sophomore forward Nyah Moran.

NAU fought hard against the Tigers, only trailing by six points by the end of the second quarter. Clemson led the game 36-30 going into halftime.

Once the second half began, the Tigers quickly took control of the game once again. Clemson outscored NAU 25-13 during the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Lumberjacks did their best to catch up to Clemson, scoring 21 points to Clemson’s 23. Unfortunately for the Lumberjacks, it was not enough, and NAU lost the game 80-62.

Freshman forward Sophie Glancey was NAU’s most electric player, shooting 6-for-7 from the field, scoring a total of 17 points and grabbing five rebounds.

Graduate student forward Montana Oltrogge had a big impact on the floor, finishing the game with 10 points, five rebounds and one steal.

The Lumberjacks next game will be held in Flagstaff Dec. 3 against Southern Utah. The game tips off at 2 p.m. MT in the Rolle Activity Center.

Photo courtesy of NAU Athletics

EVAN MCNELIA

Sophomore quarterback RJ Martinez (15) in the pocket, Nov. 5. Collin Vanderwerf | The Lumberjack